We know from palynological evidence that farmers already inhabited the valley below the city around 4200 B.C., yet the oldest surface finds in the area were an Early Bronze Age ax and a pre-Hellenistic sherd in the fortress dominating the city.

Despite the fact that this genus was not mentioned as a farmed tree in other Anatolian palynological studies, Pistacia had a long cultivation history and a variety of uses: edible green kernel, incense and varnish, and Chian or Cyprus turpentine.

This week, geologist Philippe Muchez (KULeuven) joined the geomorphological team in the southwestern part of Sagalassos territory in the Bereket basin to complete the geological map and support the work carried out there for sedimentological and palynological (pollen record) purposes.